Many have been entangled by this snare, and, like David, fallen into the greatest crimes; who, if they had been lawfully employed, might have escaped, and maintained their honour, integrity, and peace of mind. It is this which has often given occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully, in· temperance being so hateful to reflecting minds, and so disgusting to wicked men themselves. Tipplers, idlers, tattlers, and busy-bodies in other men's affairs, are characters generally despised.

To the love of sinful pleasures and its concomitants may be ascribed most of those daring villainies, and depredations on the property of others, which are so common among men, especially in and near populous towns and cities, from the ingenious pick-pocket to the audacious highwayman, who regards his own life and your's as much as he regards the command, "Thou shalt not steal." The most coercive measures hitherto adopted, though they may have suppressed thieving in some degree, have not been able to destroy the practice, as the numerous robberies and forgeries, which so much abound, abundantly testify.

When men throw off the restraints of sobriety, it is no wonder that those of chastity soon follow, for though all indecencies do not arise from intemperance, in the strict sense of the word, that many of them do, I think, will not be denied: the passions, becoming inflamed thereby, are the cause of great disorders. This is a delicate subject to be spoken of; yet, truth must be regarded before our feelings :-such as the criminal connexion of the sexes in married or single life, Exod. xx. 14, Prov. vii. 22; sensual, irregular desire, Gen. xxviii. 9; incestuous commerce, Lev. xviii. 6; unnatural crimes, Rom. i. 24-27, Lev. xx. 15, 16; inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, corrupt and obscene words, Col. iii. 5, Eph. iv. 29; chambering, effeminacy, and licentiousness, Rom. xiii. 13, Mark vii. 22, 1 Cor. vi. 9, 2 Pet. ii. 18; with all the disgraceful impurities so destructive of modesty, and so degrading to human nature. Oh what "a cage of unclean birds" is theheart of man, when under vile affections

and unrestrained sensual desire! We cannot be much surprized, considering the intrigues, evil-surmisings, jealousies, infidelities, violations of order, breach of promises, miseries of families, and other evils attendant on such criminal proceedings, that God has declared himself the Judge of offenders like these, making them dreadful examples of his dis pleasure by the singularity of their punishments, many of them here, and all of them hereafter, if unfeigned repentance prevent it not; of which an assurance has been given in the dreadful overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, who are set forth as an example to the ungodly as "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." The next sin I shall notice is

HYPOCRISY.

By this I understand not only that dissimulation which is practised under religious or other pretences upon others, but that also which men frequently practise upon their own minds. This is a great enemy to Christ and his gospel, being an imitation of the old serpent, who, the more effectually to deceive, "transforms himself into an angel of light." It puts on almost every shape that is likely to succeed, or that is calculated to deceive; honesty, disinterestedness, virtue, zeal, piety: the hypocrite, according to persons and circumstances, avails himself of them all, watches every occasion, and seizes every opportunity that will tend to his advantage, and promote his designs. In all his actions he keeps in view his own honour, pleasure, or profit. He never loses sight of one or another of these; and though he plays his part as gracefully as he can, sooner, however, than not gain his point, any other way will do equally as well. He can fawn, flatter, carry news, promise, boast, be pleasant or serious, or whatever is likely to be received. To effect all which he shuts out from his mind the thoughts and fear of God, and blinds his own eyes, that he may not see; and, in possession of what was sought with so much avidity, he glories in his shame; despises and laughs at the credulity of others, admires his own wisdom, and rejoices in his own contrivances.

Like a fisherman, he employs both angle and drag, and rejoices, and is glad at his success. "Therefore he sacrifices to his net, and burns incense to his drag; because by them his portion is fat, and his meat plenteous." Hab. i. 16.

The hypocrite makes many protestations of what he never intends to perform, or at least, not at the appointed time, or in the expected manner. He is as full of good words as a tree is of leaves: but either there is no fruit, or the fruit is bad.

He is not choked with perjury, nor does he stick at defamation; yet the whole may be done in words "smoother than butter," but inwardly these are "curses" and "war;" and he understands, on proper occasions, how to shew them outwardly as "drawn swords," by wrath and bitterness, and especially in the absence of the offended and abused party. Treachery is a common fault, and often attended with as much virulence after the attempt, as there was of craft and dissimulation previous to it; for it is vile in all its forms. Under pretence of pity or sympathy, it indulges its malevolence in propagating scandal, in whispering, talebearing, and sly insinuations of persons, who perhaps never intentionally offended them, or whose only fault has been to unbosom themselves too freely, or have placed too much confidence in such deceivers.

Much deception appears in the perversion of words. Hence drunken carousals are called good-fellowship; lewdness and abandoned wickedness have the soft names of youthful frolicks, foibles, being a little wild, but having good hearts, meaning no harm, and to be preferred to many who pretend to virtue; the varied expensive "pleasures of unrighteousness," are called pastimes, innocent amusements, diversions, and agreeable entertainments; smooth-tongued flattery, suppleness, and effeminacy, are politeness and good-breeding; laborious and brutal sports, with all the wild, senseless behaviour which discovers itself at fairs, wakes, and public festivals, are unbending the mind, recreation, and harmless mirth: avariciousness is denominated careful prudence, pre

paring for a rainy day, or minding the main chance; outrageous anger is, being a little too warm, but the person who caused it was enough to provoke an angel; pride takes the name of neatness, decency, preserving rank, and so of many other sins. And it is not only in what is evil that it discovers itself; the same perversion is attempted where virtue and religion are concerned. Thus seriousness of spirit is called melancholy; fervent piety, fanaticism; experimental religion, enthusiasm; spiritual worship, hypocrisy; attachment to the people of God, sedition and bigotry; censuring of vice, uncharitableness; and for a man to forsake his evil ways, and seek the salvation of his soul, is to become a laughing stock to some, and to have his portion with those of whom many say, 'Away with them-I hate them--they are all that is bad,' &c. &c. He that is not willing to pass for a fool, is not yet fully prepared to be a real christian, 1 Cor. iii. 18.

There is also much deceit used in business.-There are many who make no scruple of taking advantage of the ignorance, incapacity, or inattention of those who purchase their commodities; and act with great injustice, and glory in such unworthy transactions; while others act as unjustly by deficiency in weight and measure, as the others do in the nature and value of their commodities; not considering that the bag of deceitful, and divers weights and measures, is hateful in the sight of the Lord, (Prov. xx. 10.) whose eyes are upon all the ways of the sons of men, and from whom no secrets can possibly be hid.

Lying and falsehood are part of the same evil.-If lying lips are an abomination to God, as the scripture affirms, how much of this evil do his eyes behold! Many utter lies purposely to defraud, deceive, defame, from fearfulness, in sport, for the most unworthy purposes, for the most paltry gains, and on the slightest occasions. It discovers great depravity of heart, great cowardice, and is infamous and devilish to a high degree.

Among servants there are many who, under the garb of

honesty and carefulness, are acting knavish and villainous parts, purloining, and consuming the property of their employers, serving with eye-service, and neglecting their master's interests to take care of their own: while, on the other hand, there are masters, who would be thought excellent, but refuse to give unto "their servants that which is just and equal;" making them serve with rigour, and acting towards them in a cruel, oppressive, and arrogant manner; who refuse to fulfil their engagements, and are unfaithful to their promises.

How many merchants and great traders are there who, taking and making their opportunities from commercial fluctuations, under various pretences of war, unfounded reports, short supplies, bad trade, &c. crush the labourer, the needy dealer, and poor tradesman, to increase their enormous wealth; while, perhaps, the whole of their declarations are false altogether, or misrepresentations and distortions of facts and circumstances. But many a poor fellow is obliged to content himself with their words, and wait from time to time on their overgrown greatness, more like a supplicating beggar, than an industrious member of the community. And it must not be denied that much art is sometimes used by the labourer towards the wealthier dealer: many promises made which were never meant to be kept, many instances of fraud which have been detected, many lies uttered, and much dissimulation practised, on a variety of occasions: and thus iniquity is thrown from hand to hand, and transgression, under numerous forms, increased among men.

But this evil is the most pernicious and hateful, when practised under the appearance of religion, because, when discovered, its tendency is to harden men's hearts, and to fill them with prejudice against it and its real professors. Men do not give themselves time to reflect, that "all are not of Israel that are called Israel;" nor do they make that distinction between it and those that are called its advocates or followers, which proves very hurtful both to it and themselves. It is hurtful to it, since it hinders its blessed pro